In the diseased individual, however, this nural pathyway is interrupted, and the mouth utters some distorted phrase like, “Yes, boss. Right away, boss.”

You Don’t Get Nothin’ for Nothin’Weinberg illustrates the tradeoffs using the example of a runner trading distance and speed. Weinberg writes:

If someone asks you to run faster, you can offer to do so, provided that you need not keep it up for such a long distance. Or, if a longer-distance runner is needed, you may be table to run farther provided you’re willing to go more slowly. But you’re unlikely to get a faster runner who can run farther as well, nor will you find a longer-distance runner who runs faster.

The Cure for Optimitis is the Tradeoff Treatment Weinberg suggest that the cure for optimitis is the Tradeoff Treatment. The key to the Tradeoff Treatment is exposing the tradeoffs, and making an informed decision about what you are trading.

Common TradeoffsWienberg identifies two common tradeoffs that show up time and again:

Now versus later.

Risk vs. certainty.

Key Take AwaysHere’s my key take aways:

Don’t blindly agree.

Know the tradeoffs.

Expose the tradeoffs.

Get agreement on the tradeoffs.

Back at WorkI’ve found it’s better to expose the tradeoffs than to sacrifice yourself or the team along the way in pursuit of an overly optimistic solution. Every solution requires tradeoffs. You improve your effectiveness by calling them out and making them explicit decisions. This helps you sanity check what the priorities are and what’s valued. This also helps you avoid surprises.